Hall of Fame: Night of Memories and Memorable Moments

2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees: Ned Jarrett, Bobby Allison, David Pearson, and Bud Moore
Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

An amazing night full of memories, tears, and laughs was shared on Monday during the induction ceremony of the 2011 class into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Bud Moore, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett, Bobby Allison, and David Pearson were all officially inducted as the second class of NASCAR’s Hall of Fame, with the first class of five NASCAR greats receiving their moment in the spotlight as well.

Each inductee chose their own person to introduce them to the crowd. Bobby Allison was introduced by his brother Donnie; Ned Jarrett was introduced by sons Dale and Glenn and daughter Patti Makar; Lee Petty was introduced by his grandsons Ritchie, Kyle, Tim, and Mark; Lee’s sons Richard and Maurice received the induction in his honor; Barney Hall introduced Bud Moore; and David Pearson was introduced by Leonard Wood.

Each induction was preceded by a video highlight the driver’s life and career, and usually a congratulatory video from esteemed members of the industry or otherwise.

Mike Joy hosted the event, with Krista Voda providing side-stage interviews with the inductees. SPEED provided coverage of the ceremony on tape-delay.

Here are some memorable quotes from the ceremony:

Barney Hall (introducing Bud Moore)
o   “The first time I met Bud Moore and kind of hung around the pits with he and his boys, I thought he worked for Colonel Sanders. The reason was all they talked about was breasts, legs, and thighs. They still do today.”
o   “I can say I never heard anyone ever say a bad word about Bud Moore. Of course, I’m hard of hearing, so, Bud, you take that for what you will.”
·         Bud Moore:
o    “Looking back, I feel like I had a hand in a lot of contribution to our sport, whether it was running the first small block motor, the first two-way radio, tire testing in Atlanta, or just trying to build a safe racecar. Tonight, being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, those contributions are being honored.
o   “My daughter-in-law Carol Lee asked me how I wanted to be remembered. The answer is simple: one who made many contributions to building the sport, whose handshake was as good as any contract and always gave a straight answer. Most of all, to be remembered as a man who loved his family, country, and the sport of racing.”

·         Ritchie Petty (introducing Richard and Maurice Petty, representing inductee Lee Petty)
o   “Probably the greatest lesson that was instilled into all of us, he borrowed from the Bible. Matthew 12:25: A house divided against itself shall not stand.
o   “Even in Lee’s last days, keeping his family together was the key to his legacy. He was that glue that kept us all together.”
·         Kyle Petty (introducing Richard and Maurice Petty, representing inductee Lee Petty)
o    “This was for us and for my grandfather it was not a sport. It was a way of life.”
o   “The funny part is that as my grandfather raced, he raced to put food on the table. That’s what it was all about. It wasn’t about the trophies. It was about keeping the family together and keeping us all as one cohesive unit.”
·         Tim Petty (introducing Richard and Maurice Petty, representing inductee Lee Petty)
o   “(Quoting Lee Petty) It’s not how much you earn but how much you keep. Finally, there is no more important race than the one you’re fixing to run.”
o   “Lee Petty’s real success story is what he taught us through his unwavering love for his wife Elizabeth, his family and his unending dedication to his craft, the sport of auto racing, which we are all truly thankful for.”
·         Mark Petty (introducing Richard and Maurice Petty, representing inductee Lee Petty)
o   “For the first 17 years of my life, Lee Petty was someone I was scared of. I didn’t even know him. He was just the mean boss man down in the garage.”
o   “I wish I could have recorded [Lee Petty’s] stories. But, you know, they are recorded right here in my heart.”   
·         Richard Petty (representing his father and inductee Lee Petty)
o   “He (Lee Petty) lived in his world and he didn’t want anybody to tell him how to live in his world. His big deal was to take care of his own. If you got in the way, it didn’t make a whole lot of difference to him. He got you out of the way.

·         Dale Jarrett (introducing father and inductee Ned Jarrett)
o   “He (Ned Jarrett) has been a track owner and promoter, a radio commentator, sponsor representative, TV analyst, a huge fan, and of course a driver.”
·         Glenn Jarrett (introducing father and inductee Ned Jarrett)
o    “Of course we all remember that last lap of the 1993 Daytona 500 that you just saw on CBS with dad urging Dale to keep that 3 car behind you. For once, Dale listened and went on to get one of his first of his three Daytona 500 victories.”
o    “Most of our favorite memories are the times that we spent with our dad. And tonight is the ultimate memory.”
·         Patti Makar (introducing father and inductee Ned Jarrett)
o    “Neither my brothers nor myself ever had dreams of following in his footsteps, but we all did in some way. The efforts of the three of us combined haven’t come close to his accomplishments.”
o   “While you have devoted most of your life to racing, the sport itself hasn’t been your only love. We have witnessed your love of God, of our mother. We have witnessed your love of competitors and colleagues, all of which made made a positive impact in our lives.”
·         Ned Jarrett:
o    “When it was announced several years ago there would be a NASCAR Hall of Fame, when my name was among the original 25 nominees, my prayer then was to live long enough to be elected. I had to work hard on my health to be able to be here and enjoy this tremendous honor. I thank God for answering those prayers.”
o    “I’m proud to stand here tonight and tell you that of the 50 races that I won, 43 of them were in Ford cars, which makes me, forgive me for boasting, that’s the most races any driver has won in a ford car in NASCAR competition. That’s something I’m very proud of.”

·         Donnie Allison (introducing brother and inductee Bobby Allison)
o    “He’s (Bobby Allison) a very good family man as documented a while ago. But I’ll tell you something, nothing paralleled racing. He loved it.”
o   “A lot of people ask Bobby, ‘Why didn’t you let Davey win (in the ’88 Daytona 500)? He’s your son!’ I’m here to tell you he wouldn’t have let his own mother win.”
·         Bobby Allison:
o   “I think about it. I did win 85 times. Scout’s honor, 85 times. But just to try to put that in perspective a little bit, that was in nine different brands of cars for 14 different race teams. Now, the way I look at it, I did drive pretty good most of the time. But boy I couldn’t keep a job.”
o   “The bottom line, it was just an incredible career. This involved so many people.”
·       
         Russell Branham (introducing inductee David Pearson)
o   “David was larger-than-life, had that Hollywood swagger, and was the coolest of cool.”
o   “Never tell an old racecar driver to go slow.”
o   “(Pearson) never left his roots. He never forgot where he grew up in the mill village of Whitney, South Carolina.
·         Leonard Wood (introducing inductee David Pearson)
o   “If the car wasn’t running, you better work on it because it sure wasn’t the driver.”
o   “Every time we ever had the time equal, we knew we had a shot at winning, no question.”
·         David Pearson
o   “I want to thank Richard Petty. He’s probably the one that made me win as many as I did. I run hard because he’d make me run hard. Sometimes he would make a mistake and I’d pass him. Of course, I didn’t never make no mistakes.”
o   “Thank all the women that carried us around to all the places we done. I enjoyed that. I’m talking about the ones that works here.”
Hall of Fame: Night of Memories and Memorable Moments Hall of Fame: Night of Memories and Memorable Moments Reviewed by Summer Dreyer on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 Rating: 5